I'm interrupting this dormant dog-blog to write about my entry into the world of children's literature - there will still be the occasional mention of my erstwhile doggie companion who is still a pup in spirit, if not in size.

3 Feb 2012

What's in a name?

So at long last, I had my own dog to accompany me on the Friday walk. Since I pounced on the Groove Queen (hereafter referred to as GQ) about half way through last year, we’ve been taking a weekly walk on the beach. I say pounce because she was a newbie and I knew she’d have no mates. When D2 told me there was a new kid in her class I immediately said ‘I’ll have to meet his Mum’. As it happened GQ and I get on famously – in spite of her superior fashion sense.

So we cemented our friendship with the weekly beach walk. Then in December, Douglas – some kind of Pomeranian with a foxy face – joined our weekly outing.

Douglas (Dougie) the dog.

Poor Douglas had endured months as a quarantine dog; first in Shanghai and then in Melbourne. GQ spent a fair bit of money getting the family pet through the bureaucracy before he made it for his first taste of beach life in lovely Ocean Grove.

Now Douglas, I found out this morning, is named after a British actor, Douglas Henshall. Apparently he’s a red head – which, it turns out, is GQ’s weakness.

Dougie's namesake Douglas Henshall

GQ’s previous dog, a sprightly poodle, was called Peter. Yesterday on the beach somebody called out to their dog named Malcolm!

It got me thinking; what is it about people who give their dogs human names?

And really, is it any more peculiar than people who give their dogs cutesy names like Muffin or Brownie or Fluff?

We named Pip after a great debate around the family dinner table. D1 wanted to name him Carrots because that’s her nickname at school. D2 was luke warm about this - I suspect for the same reason. Then a whole host of ridiculous names were suggested – Chair, Biscuit, Dishwasher (we’d just acquired a new one), Wave, etc. Finally, D2 said ‘What about Pip?’ Nobody disliked it and it seemed to be the only name we could agree on. Both Him-In-Doors and I liked the literary reference – Pip out of Dickens’ Great Expectations – and it was short and easy. So our pup, who started life as Mickey, became Pip.